Dow Hits Another High and S&P Sees 9th Positive Week Out of 10 on Jobs Data

On Friday the major indices extended their gains with another record high for the Dow and the sixth consecutive climb for the S&P. The jobs report was much stronger than expected in the US--non-farm payrolls added 236,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7%. After the Fed released results of their "stress test" for major banks, several banks such as Bank of America (BAC) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) saw shares fall. Despite announcing that same-store sales fell in February, McDonald's Corp. (MCD) rose 1.6%.

Pandora (P) announced higher-than-expected quarterly earnings and saw shares rise 19%. The US dollar climbed to a three-month high against the euro and a three-and-a-half year high against the Japanese yen mostly due to the positive payrolls report. US oil was up from yesterday, settling just under $92 a barrel.

Word on the Street

US unemployment rate drops in February, but many are giving up looking for jobs.